[Singapore Engagement] Pops and crisz

We had Crisz and Pops' E-Session in the Singapore Botanic Gardens on the day of Hari Raya. It was a spontaneous and fun shoot :) This is also the first time that I'm shooting on my own. before the shoot I was so excited and a bit nervous. I've always wanted to try to shoot alone to experience being totally in control of the shoot. It's really welcome that we were blessed with good weather and lighting during that day and the rain starts to pour only after we wrap-up.

Aside from the misfortune of Crisz misplacing her iPhone, I know that Crisz and Pops had a great time and had fun during the shoot. :)

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PDP SG Batch 2 Week 4: Outdoor Photography

Tried to help out again in PDP Batch 2. this time in their outdoor photography shoot. Gracielle taught them how to use light modifiers such as reflector, diffuser, flash, and even video lights. it was a great session and I learned a lot as well. though heat of the sun is scorching, it was well worth it! :)

Our Wedding Details: Monograms

A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol (thanks wikipedia!) . In weddings, these are usually the initials or name of the Bride and Groom combined to make one symbol/logo.

We haven't thought of having one initially, Pam didn't even know what they are and me, I thought that I'll just create one when I have time. But I realized that the monogram is such a big component of the wedding, it makes it more personal. It will symbolizes us as a couple, the joining of our families, and our event.

Monograms can be used in your wedding invitations, napkins, thank you notes, wedding favors, photo booth template, wedding cake and other wedding details.

Our monograms were designed again by Ana Rotor of Ink Works. Ana is a former member of Weddings at Work and she was previously doing monograms for other w@wies for free in the forum. She has now launched InkWorks, they specializes in making Monograms and other wedding related graphic designs.

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Gadgets: Nikon D7000 announced

I'm a gadget geek, I'm always excited when new gadgets are announced, specially if the announcement is coming from either Apple or Nikon (yeah I have a fanboy card :D). And I follow sites like Nikonrumors, Tuaw, and of course Engadget.

Nikon announced the D7000 today. It has been rumored for a long time now and it seems that Nikonrumors got everything correct. its supposed to be the replacement for the midrange DX format Nikon D90. The D90 was a great camera.It was the first DSLR to have HD video recording capability. It has 12 MP, a good ISO range usable even up to ISO 3200 at times. Decent 4.5 FPS frame rate, 720p HD video recording, flash commander mode, Good autofocus with 11 AF Points. It's so good that it took Nikon more than 2 years before replacing it.

The D7000 takes it to a new level with 16 MP, ISO range up to 6400 (max is 25,600), 100% viewfinder, 6 FPS, Double Memory Card Slot, 1080p HD Video Recording, 39 AF Point System, and Magnesium Alloy body.

Though the D7000 is a great camera, I don’t think that I will be upgrading from my D90 because it's still in the DX format. For me the upgrade path is to move to FX format which will give the FX look that I want and because I'm after still photos and not video recording.

If you're after the video recording capability, that’s a different story as the D7000 claims to have an improved autofocus on Video Recording mode. Plus it can now record in 1080p versus the 720p from the D90. The D7000 is expected to be in the price range of 1,700 SGD.

Together with the D7000 announcement are two new prime lenses: The AFS 35mm 1.4 G and the AFS 200mm G VR II and a new Speedlight SB700 (which replaces the SB600) with Master function that enables it to control 2 remote groups of flashes.

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Our Wedding Details: Catholic Engaged Encounter Experience

Last weekend, Pam and I attended the Catholic Engaged Encounter here in Singapore, it is a 2 full days stay-in program that starts from Friday night and ends with a Mass on Sunday afternoon. It was held in the Marriage Encounter house in Punggol. I didn't know exactly what to expect for the weekend but I thought that since its stay in, I will be able to rest and recover from a tiring week. Oh boy am I wrong.. It's a tough tough program, that is mentally and emotionally exhausting but will definitely benefit you, your partner and your relationship. 

Before we checked in Friday afternoon, Pam and I had an argument and we are not talking inside the cab on the way to the ME house, even when we got to the ME house we are still not talking. It’s a bit awkward as we saw other couples smiling and being sweet to each other and here we are not talking. 

When we got to the class room to start the first session, Fr. Ambrose Vaz explained to us how our weekend will go. We then had a quick introduction of ourselves and our partners. There were about 30 couples participating for the weekend, multi-cultural and almost half are interfaith couples  or couples with different religions. We were discourage to mingle with the other couples during the discussion and were advised to focus on our partners instead. We also have two senior couples guest speaker who shared their experiences. One couple have been married for 30 years and the other couple for 10 years. Their sharing is very much appreciated as they are living proof that marriage works. Its not easy all the time but it works.

Friday night  is exhausting as we finished almost midnight.  The good thing is that during the discussion, Pam and I were able to write down and discuss about our arguments and how we feel about it. We learned that our fight is normal and is part of what we called disillusionment stage, the good thing is that after the dissilussionment stage comes reconciliation which brings us to the next stage called true joy.

Saturday and Sunday went just like Friday night, there were different subjects that were tackled that we don’t usually discuss with our partners on our daily routine, that when we suddenly got into that difficult situation, we are unprepared and will not know how to tackle it, which then will lead to fight. But if you have discussed these things beforehand, you both know what to expect and will be ready for it.

I will not share the details of the other subjects that were discussed as we are discourage from sharing it. This is  for the benefit of the other couples who will be attending the CEE. But I will share you this, The most important thing that we took home this weekend is that realizing that we are the sign of God's love to each other and God should be the center of our relationship.

I highly recommend this to other couples even before they start on their wedding plans. You thought you know your partner? Think again.. :) We spend so much time planning and preparing for our wedding which will be over in a day, why not spend a weekend preparing for your marriage that will last a lifetime..?

How to reach them:
Catholic Engaged Encounter Singapore
www.catholic.org.sg/ceespore
email: ceespore@catholic.org.sg

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Will be checking in at Catholic Engaged Encounter

We will be checking in tonight for the Catholic Engage Encounter. It is a requirement for our wedding as it will serve as our alternative to the pre-cana seminar in Manila. We will be staying in from tonight till Sunday. The pre-cana seminar in Manila is just half-day, I wonder why it needs two full days for the CEE.  I am actually not sure what to expect, but anything that can benefit our relationship to be much stronger is welcome. :)

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Hello 85 1.8

I got my Nikkor AF 85 1.8 D lens last monday night. I've always lusted for this lens ever since I've tried one when Pam's cousin Gary lend me his copy. It's a perfect portrait lens for me as I'm comfortable with the focal length and love the depth of field it gives. So when I got a call from Gary asking if I know someone who might be interested buying his 85 1.8 I asked him to reserve it to me. Now I have it and i can't wait to use it tomorrow morning for a friend's prenup shoot. :)

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Our Wedding Details: Save the Date

Pam and I just sent out the electronic version of our Save the Date cards. Yup cards with an "S"as we have three versions designed by a former w@wie Ana Rotor of InkWorks. (Good Job Ana!)

We know that sending the Save the Date card two months before is a bit late but still better to send one than just sending an invitation one month before. And Yup, we still haven't finalized our invitations for printing but were getting there. ;)

time just flies..

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Purpose Driven Photographer

Last Saturday, I assisted in the Purpose Driven Photographer Workshop Singapore. The Singapore branch of the workshop is already in its 2nd Batch. I am so blessed to be part of the first batch. More than learning Photography and meeting different photographers from Imagine Nation, I made new friends who shares the same passion. :D

The speaker for the session is Carlo Cecilio, A master photographer from Imagine Nation. The topic is about Composition and Posing.
I got to the classroom around 9:30AM, Stephen and Carlo are not yet there, but there are already a number of students inside, I went inside the room and introduce myself to everyone, I started walking around the room shaking one hand after another while trying to remember their names. Good thing later on they were given name tags and make the job of remembering their names easier. :D

The class started with Carlo giving an exercise for the students to take some shots without using their viewfinder and LCD screens. He had them cover their cameras viewfinder and LCD screens and asked to shoot anything they want outside. Carlo later explained that it is an exercise for the students to see with their mind and not just with their eyes.
The lecture then started with review of last weeks lesson which is Basic Photography. Basically the relationships between, Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO sensitivity, also reviewed is the setting the correct White Balance.


Carlo then proceed to the main topic which is Composition and Posing. It was sort of a review for me as Carlo go through the slides.  After Composition we break for lunch. And then we continue with the study of the Purpose Driven life. This part is what makes the course special and unique. The workshop aims not just helping you  become a good photographer but to be a better person as well. The workshop is also scheduled for 7 consecutive weekend which means that the student will have the time to bond with each other, have fun and develop friendship.


After PDL we continued with the lecture on Posing, Carlo give some posing do's and don't and show sample photos of how it should be done. The basic concern is making your subject comfortable in front of the camera, finding their best angle and not making them do something you are not willing to do yourself.

We then headed out to Esplanade area to practice their composition and posing techniques. Connie, one of my classmates in PDP SG Batch 1 agreed to help by becoming one of the models. we then met up with the other models Kevin and Shaz.


I know that the students had fun learning and shooting during the day and will have more fun in the sessions that will follow.  Next week, they will be learning about Studio lighting and Strobist. :D